Earth's Ocean

Earth's ocean covers more than 70% of our planet's surface. There are five major ocean basins: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, and the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica.

Seawater is salty. Anyone who has taken a gulp of water while swimming in the ocean knows that. The saltiness of the water is called salinity. Salt is dissolved in the seawater. There are other minerals and gases dissolved in seawater too.

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The Southern Ocean is sometimes known as the Antarctic Ocean or South Polar Ocean. It surrounds Antarctica in the South Polar Region. The Southern Ocean is a bit different from other oceans. Other oceans...more

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth. It is about one and a half times the size of the United States. Almost all of Antarctica is covered with a thick layer of ice called...more

Almost 3/4 of the Earth is covered with water. Almost all of that water is in the oceans. Have you ever been swimming in the ocean? If you have and you accidentally got water in your mouth, you know the...more

The water at the ocean surface is moved by powerful wind. The wind is able to move the top 400 meters of the ocean. This moving water is called surface ocean currents. Surface ocean currents form large...more

There are places in the ocean where water from the deep sea travels up to the surface. These are called areas of upwelling. The deep waters can have a large influence on marine life and the climate too....more

When waves get to the beach at an angle, water moves along the coast in a longshore current. Longshore currents grow stronger when the waves come towards the beach at a large angle, if the waves are large,...more

Have you ever walked along the same beach at different times during the day? Did you notice that sometimes the water was higher up on the beach than at other times? Changes in the height of ocean water...more